Six years have passed since then, and Inko could hardly be happier. Since Izuku started learning, his confidence has grown. Anima wasn't just her son's teacher, but the Cacciatore's had become friends to the Midoriya. The couple had come to her house every now and then, and she had been invited to their house for snacks and conversations as well.
Izuku's first two months had been endless repetition to make the basics and fundamentals second nature followed by basic muscle, speed, and stamina training until he was exhausted. She worried the first few times, but while he was breathing heavily, Izuku had a look of satisfaction. Anima also taught her son meditation and calligraphy for him to practice at home for training control. Now, Izuku was, by Anima, considered a 4th dan in his 10 rank school. He told Izuku that 5th dan was multitudes harder to reach and that Anima was the only 10th dan in the style.
Jesse was also helping him from time to time as a tutor. Turns out Jesse worked as a therapist for teenagers. Izuku looked up to her as an aunt of sorts, and she was more than happy to fill that role for him. Right now the four were at a good restaurant in congratulations for Izuku's straight A's in his finals for primary school.
"You have praise-worthy dedication. Not only have you regularly come to the dojo, but your attendance and grades were the best in the whole school. Nice job, Izuku-san!" Anima wasn't one to throw praise around, so Izuku was red in embarrassment. Luckily, they rented a private booth, or the staring would have made it worse. Jesse decided to even the playing field.
"At least you didn't have the record Anima had" she grinned as his face dawned in horror.
"What was Anima-san like?" inko asked innocently. Knowing that he would only make it worse if he let her tell it, Anima decided to bite it.
"I, uh, I wasn't the most orthodox student in my school years." Jesse laughed.
"Your best friend tried to mug you on your first meeting, your attendance was horrid, and you came in with blood on your clothes. What was 'orthodox' during your time in school?" Anima choked on his wine at her very blunt statement.
"I was a cheerleader?" it sounded like a question more than an answer. The two Midoriya's just stared at him in utter bafflement. He could see the thought running across their faces. Anima always tried to be as polite as he could, and while he was straight forward, he tried not to be rude.
"Anima-sensei was a delinquent?" He shook his head at Izuku's question, giving Jesse a dry look to her unapologetic one.
"Thank you, dear. Now my disciple thinks I was a trouble child." he drawled while trying to hold his smile back.
"My attire and attendance was due to my being a hero, and that was only high school. Trying to criminals use to get me shot at, frequently. Since I had only so many articles of clothing, and blood's a pain to get out of thick weaves like denim, so I just had to suck it up and wear them." Izuku was on the edge of his seat. Anima hardly talked about his hero days. His current project was finding out his age. That was harder than he thought because one of his (and his wife, who seemed to have the same) quirk's abilities was slowing his aging to a crawl. Inko shook her head, trying not to think of a high school boy purposefully going where he knew he was going to get shot.
"Izu-kun's getting closer, Anima-san. Why don't you tell him?" she joked, trying to change the mood. To her surprise, Anima shrugged.
"Sure, I was born March 15th." Everyone looked surprised, even Jesse, and she knew he'd go the whole way.
"Of the year 1999." the private room was silent until Izuku jolted up.
"But it's 2302! That would mean you're 303 years old!" The way the martial artist didn't react told them he wasn't lying. His next words confirmed it.
"302, my birthday is later this month. Jesse's only a year younger." This was rewarded with a love tap from her, mumbling about a girl's age. The Midoriya's were silent. Three centuries of life. The amount they have seen may have been enormous, and Anima had told them he started martial arts when he was seven and hadn't stopped since. That also means that he wasn't government sanctioned like current heroes; he was a vigilante.
"So, your quirks give you a longer lifespan," Izuku noted, but was again stopped.
"That's why we got a private room. You've been my student for years and a 4th dan, To advance further, you have to know a few things. One of those is that quirks aren't the only form of abilities." Looking at Izuku's confusion, he continued.
"Do you remember what I told you about powers the day you became my student?" Anima asked
"There are the those you are born with and powers you earn through hard work."His disciple's response was automatic. Nodding at the verbatim answer, the master continued the back and forth.
"Quirks aren't the only powers out there. There are older, more potent forms of power. Quirks are just easier to come across." He raised his left arm and his student watched the muscled limb grow in size while gaining a dark gray fur. He had a pure ivory claw on each finger, about two inches long. Jesse did the same with her right. Her fur was lighter in color, with shorter, more slender claws. The couple held hands as they turned to human again. Anima blinked as he realized something.
"Looks like we accidentally set up for what else I was going to bring up this dinner. It's about where Izuku's training will go from now on."
"You can't be thinking of teaching Izu-kun magic, can you?" Inko asked.
"Jesse's and my werewolf transformations are a hereditary magic, but I won't teach mage-craft to your son." he calmly stated.
"Why not?"
"Cause I suck at it." he bluntly told them. Izuku was deflating at the fact. His teacher looked at him.
"I'm gonna teach you how to utilize chi instead." Izuku perked at that.
"What's the difference between them?" Anima looked at his wife as she answered for him.
"Semantics," she stated with her spouses' directness. "Both are using your will to channel energy and shape reality. The main difference is application. Chi focus' on the body, while magic is focused on world altering. Neither is better, but Anima knows chi because of his path." while his mother still looked skeptical, but was slowly coming to terms with it in time. Her son was mumbling to himself about his new knowledge and how it fits with what he's learned from their slips of the tongue.
"Now I don't teach these things freely, so please know that while great power means great opportunities, it also means you bear the responsibilities for them. Understand?" Anima questioned Izuku.
"What do I need to do?" His student enquired, pleasantly surprising him. As passionate as the kid was, he always tried to think things through.
"One, the three codes of honor must be followed. Two, you may not try teaching someone until you become an 8th dan. And the last and hardest," his gaze sharpened at his dear student. "don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it." Anima's eyes were sharp, but tainted by sadness. Too many friends had died because they didn't want to burden anyone with their problems. After Izuku saw those eyes, he knew that rule was broken more than any other. Even Jesse-san was serious. The doubt cleared from his mind as he turned to his instructor.
"I want to be a hero that people look up to! Please help me get there, sensei!" Anima looked at his disciple with pride, knowing the spark he first saw had grown to the fire he had in him today.
"Wonderful, Izuku. You've already exceeded my expectations. There's only one thing left; naming your path." Izuku was shocked. Not only had his teacher dropped his honorifics, but had given him the right to give a name to his path. Anima's was the 'Lang de Lujing' or 'path of the wolf' (it made more sense now that he knew what his teacher was). Having your own path had the meaning of forging your own destiny. Anima telling him to name his path was telling him to make his path for himself. He had the name in his mind the day he knew what it meant.
"Bahou de Lujing. The path of the protector." Those words were what he stood for. Saving lives, helping people, protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. He wanted to be the one people look up to, just like his favorite hero, All Might.
"One of the hardest paths to make. I like it!" as Anima said these words, both were smiling. Inko saw this all as they were in their own world. Jesse gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder.
"We'll be with him almost every step of the way. He won't make the worse mistakes, at the very least." The she-wolf smiled. Inko gave a small nod.
"I know you will, but I can't help worrying about my baby boy." Her tears fell silently as her mind raced on about what harm could come to him.
"I know the sensation," Jesse stated, as Inko gave her a look. "My husband was a hero as well. Even if he says he's retired, the moment trouble starts, he's the first to jump in. the scariest time was when someone impaled him. My advice, Inko-chan, is to learn extensive first aid." She didn't know why, but Jesse looked almost resigned. It was as if she came to terms with the aforementioned anxiety her husband caused. The only thing the women could do for now was to pray for their loved ones.
The next time Izuku came for a lesson, Anima brought him to the room they practiced meditation. Izuku's favorite incense had been lit and the four sticks were in the room's corners. He took a seat in the center of it all.
"Take your shirt off. We're going to start by letting you feel my chi for you to sense your own." Anima told him, doing the same. His mentor took their shirts out of the room and took a lotus style seat behind him. Izuku went still as his breathing slowed while his mentor's hand started to glow with a calming yellow flame. Anima put his hand in the middle of Izuku's spine and his chi flowed into the young boy. The warmth that spread through his body was unbelievable. The comfort was enveloping, but Izuku felt an underlying current of wrath behind it, as if It was waiting for a person to be used on. Anima had told him that werewolves had the rage of a god coursing through them, and he could feel it. But it wasn't directed at him, but at anything that would do him harm, like a pack of wolves protecting him. The warmth faded, making Izuku shiver at the cold. Soon, he felt normal, as if his body filled the space his teacher's energy had just vacated. He paid close attention to that sensation to look over it again later. As Anima sat in front of him, Izuku noticed the incense had burnt the entire length.
"How did it feel?" the question hung in the air while he formed his experience into words.
"Like I was in a den of wolves. Comforting, but the underlying current of anger made it feel like it was made for violence." The words carried a strange weight to them. Anima gave a smile.
"Werewolves have that wrath since the day we are born to the last breath we take. It's not inherently destructive, it just needs control and direction. Now, for the next part. Forming your chi. This will be frustrating, but I'll be with you every step of the way." for the next few hours, Izuku never gave up.
Inko went to the Cacciatores after Jesse had called saying Anima and Izuku were still in the meditation room. Every now and then, The boys would lose track of time until someone told them, so she was used to it. At the door, Jesse greeted her and brought her to the tea room. Inko was always impressed by the size of the house the couple lived in. she found out that they bought the land and a friend came to make the small eastern manor as a gift. After some small talk, they heard Izuku shout down the hall.
"I-I did it! Yes!" Anima was heard giving him congratulations at the fact. There was a pause until the shoji door opened and a bare chested Izuku found himself in the room.
"Jesse-san, I managed to form my chi! Oh mom, when did you get here?" The women smiled at his hyperactive antics. Inko inclined him to show his progress, and her son nodded. Closing his eyes in focus, a small, lighter sized flame flickered into existence on his index finger. Jesse gave a small applause.
"Good job Izuku-chan. It took you only what, eight hours?"
"Try ten. He came in at six, and spent two hours familiarizing himself with my chi, then spent till just now trying to do it himself." Anima walked in the room without a shirt as well. Inko noticed a palm sized crooked starburst shaped scar over his chest. She remembered the night Jesse told her about the injury, but this was her first time seeing it. As he turned to his wife, a matching exit scar could be seen on his back. Whatever impaled him was big and went all the way through the man. After giving his wife her hello kiss, Anima turned to see Inko.
"Would you be more comfortable if I had a shirt on?" he asked politely.
"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to stare!" she stammered.
"Not what I asked. Would you be more comfortable if I had a shirt?" after an ashamed nod, he walked off to get Izuku and his shirts. After he came back dressed, he pelted his mumbling student across the face with his. As Izuku put his shirt on, Anima addressed the unspoken question.
"I was twenty when I got it. While being a regenerator makes it hard, heavy damage can leave scars, but they don't hurt. I came to terms with mine long ago." He was calm talking about it.
"That's not the only one?" Inko didn't know why she asked, but the words fell out almost callously
"You probably didn't see them when you focused on the blatant one but faded as they are, I have them." he wasn't even fazed by her tone, as the question was one he answered many times before.
"Ah, sensei! When can I learn how to use this?" Izuku blatantly broke the tension as he made another small flame of chi. As it went out, his eyes fell a bit and he stumbled forward as Anima and Jesse caught him.
"Careful there. I told you that chi is the energy of life, remember? Overusing it isn't a good idea. Also, your starting training is to get used to making it, maintaining it, and growing it. Then you focus on control, finally working on power. Until then, promise me you won't train your chi without either Jesse or me giving permission." Anima gave him a lecture while setting him down in a chair. Inko followed him into the kitchen, worry overflowing.
"Do you mean that if he uses that too often, Izuku could hurt himself? How badly? Is he going to be-" Anima cut her off.
"Fine, he's going to be fine, Inko-san. Utilizing chi is just physically and mentally exhausting. Overuse will have him passing out and messing with his focus, but unless he does something monumentally stupid, he'll be fine. Now, would you like to help me cook some food for the kid who hasn't eaten since breakfast?" Having been placated, Inko decided to pull out all the stops for her son. After talking with each other some more and busying themselves in the kitchen, a large dinner was served in the dining room. Lively conversations abounded. Finally given the go ahead, Izuku got Anima to tell stories of his hero days. Some were touching, others awe inspiring, and a few that gave the Midoriyas chills. Inko told of Izuku's childhood complete with, to the boy's horror, baby pictures. Izuku talked about the latest things heroes, and Jesse talked about work and poking fun at other people's stories. Before they knew it, the sun had set and the dishes had been finished. Jesse walked them home for safety. When Izuku dragged himself to his room he fell asleep almost instantly.
Well, that's a wrap. While I know I'm going to get some flak, while the supernatural isn't in the MHA universe, this is sorta a blend with another hero world and It was present in the world Anima is in (Kinda has to be for what he is). I know some of you readers are curious about what my version of werewolves can do, so I'm going to tell you. While their powers grow in different ways depending on the individual, all werewolves are tough bastards to kill. Durability, regeneration, heightened senses, and an almost unlimited amount of endurance. Transformed in their large wolf or bipedal wolf those abilities, including their physical ones are even stronger. Anima is specifically built for speed, while Jesse is better at her senses. Also, the fact that this world is centuries in the future; it has little impact on the story other than to make Anima that old. That is all for today; I will see you next time